


An Evening Well-Spent

by sprx77



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 16:59:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7626628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprx77/pseuds/sprx77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lord Harry James Potter, Earl of Gryffindor, has a boring summer day wherein he sets his responsibilities aside for a few hours and systematically demolishes #12 Grimmauld Place using the Weasley Twins, with Sirius, as a form of therapy. It's like the best early birthday ever for the latter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Evening Well-Spent

**Author's Note:**

> A snippet from a verse I'm working on. It wrote itself, really, over the course of five hours and three phone calls to my best friend to debate magical theory. Set just after third year, or, 'a solid year after the parts I'm working on because writing chapters relevant temporally to the one I last wrote isn't as fun as random, cracky one-shots a year into the future.'

“I can’t imagine being forced to stay at Private Drive,” Harry offered, looking at the heavy furnishings and high, cobwebbed ceilings in a new light.

Sirius looked a heartbeat away from doing some follow up questions on that little nugget. Harry intervened quickly.

His wand flicked to his hand with a thought and he grinned, ruby glinting from the ring on his finger. After all, it was just the two of them.

“I,” He declared, twirling the wand as soon as he was sure he had his godfather’s full attention, “am a legal adult. You know what legal adults can do?”

Sirius’ eyes followed the motion curiously.

“Magic?”

“ _Magic_.” Harry confirmed, grasping the wand more firmly and pointing it at thick, black drapes. The colour-change charm was technically OWL level, but only because of where it fell in the lessons, not because of any particular difficulty.

Changing the colour of things was something even he’d done as accidental magic.

Sirius barked out a shocked laugh as the drapes turned bright tangerine.

He whipped out his own wand and added hot pink polka-dots.

For a moment, Sirius just stared at his own wand. Then at the spotted drapes, clashing wildly with the rest of the house. A grin slowly stretched across his lips.

“This is going to be wicked therapeutic.”

Later, as they finished changing every wall and ceiling and floor and cushion into wildly mismatching, bright shades of every colour imaginable, Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes and laughed.

“You know what I just thought of?”

Sirius, who one might be excused for thinking was having the time of his life, whooped and threw himself onto a lime-greenish leather sofa.

“Well, first, does the floo work here?” Harry climbed gingerly onto an overturned armchair that was no less stuffy for it’s polka-dots (“It matches the drapes!”)

“I-- whoo--” Sirius panted a little trying to catch his breath, “Yeah, I had it installed last week.”

“Awesome. You know the Weasley twins?”

“Molly Weasley’s sons? No, not really.”

“They’re pretty infamous around Hogwarts. They have a whole drawer of confiscated stuff in Filch’s office.”

The man on the couch snorted, looking up at the ceiling; it was enchanted, way beyond Harry’s level, to show a tiny version of himself on an equally small broom, zooming about.

“A drawer? Your dad and I, the things we got up to. We had a whole cabinet to ourselves. Three or four drawers, at least, and that’s only the stuff we got _caught_ with.”

Harry’s turn to snort.

“They invented trick wands. Looks real, pick it up off a table-- but when you cast, it turns into a rubber chicken or something.”

Sirius about _roared_ with laughter.

“I’m upset we never thought of it, to be honest! That’s brilliant. Oh, your mum’s _face_ , if she ever picked up a chicken wand. She would _beat_ James with it.”

“Well, they can’t tell who’s casting magic in a magical house, right?” Harry prompted. “We could let the twins help decorate for the rest of the evening. Make their day.”

“Oh, what the hell,” Sirius conceded. “It’s not like I don’t have twelve years of corruption I’m behind on.”

He paused.

“James promised, you know? That I could be the one to corrupt you. It was my duty as your godfather.”

“I can’t think of anything more corrupting than Fred and George.” Harry admitted honestly.

Thirty minutes later and with a lot of reassurances to Molly Weasley, Ron, Ginny, and the twins stood in the colour-crazy living room.

“Look, you two,” Sirius said to the younger pair. “You’re not to cast anything. Not because it’s illegal, but because I’m scared of your mum.”

Ron gave in after a series of entertaining facial expressions, settling on “fair enough.” He echoed it with words a second later.

“Well I’m not going to protest, you’ve gotten me out from under mom’s thumb for the evening.” Ginny brushed past her brother and threw herself onto the couch.

“Nice colour, this.” She offered.

Harry laughed before he could stop himself.

“Just to be clear,” Said George, staring at Sirius intently.

“You want us to really, really,” Fred started.

“Really and truly,” Put in the first.

“ _Really,_ actually go nuts on your house.”

Sirius grinned.

“I knew your uncles, you know? Graduated before me, but I met them in the Order. You’re so like them it kinda hurts.”

He paused in remembrance.

“But yeah, my mom was a vicious cunt. There were house elf heads up in the hallway before we convinced crazy old Kreacher to move them. Go nuts.”

Fred started to question him further. George elbowed him in the gut.

“One time. One time in our lives someone tells us to “go nuts”. In as many words, even!” His expression was pure _do not ruin this for us._

Fred dropped his raised finger and closed his mouth.

They both looked over Sirius and Harry one more time, making sure they weren’t to change their minds. Then, as one, they ran off to get started.

“You won’t recognize the place when we’re through!” One yelled in parting.

“That’s my goal!” Sirius shouted back.

“Bless you!” Echoed faintly.

Even with the colour changes, Sirius looked surprised at all the shouting going on. He shook himself, looked to where Ginny was taking a well-deserved rest on the sofa, and Harry and Ron were standing with a tad bit of awkwardness.

“Harry, you should take your friends and offer them snacks.” Sirius decided, smiling. “I’ll just...”

He trailed off, gesturing vaguely.

Harry was not about to let him get away with it.

“You’re hardly unwelcome,” He protested. “You’ve got as many funny stories as anyone. And you know so much about everything. Really, I don’t mind. I want to spend time with you, too.”

Unmentioned was the fact that they’d spent as much as the last few days as possible together.

Harry didn’t have much in the way of family.

Besides, any member of the Weasley clan was used to being in a full kitchen.

Sirius looked uncertain and also a bit lost, which was unacceptable, and only firmed Harry’s resolve.

“I need all the family time I can get.” He said glibly.

Then: “Speaking of. Izzy!”

A short, green-skinned house elf appeared in all their splendor.

“Master Harry!” They yelled happily.

Harry opened his arms for a hug and the elf gamely complied. He scooped them up.

Izzy was the youngest of his elves and it had been a miracle they survived on such a suppressed tether to his magic.

“I’ve got some friends over,” He told them, spinning so they could see a surprised Ron and a curious Ginny.

“We should be serving them lunch!” Izzy said, more excited than scandalized, though there was a touch of reproach.

“Do you think your sister could round up enough lunch for everyone? There’s Ron, Ginny, Sirius-- Fred and George are demolishing the upstairs hallway, I think-- and any elf who wants to come, of course, no matter what they’re doing.”

Izzy turned wide eyes on him and grinned.

“If we’re doing a feast, Izza has to tell Cesario! And Jamy to set the tables and Nettie to set her cleaners on the dining room here and--”

He interrupted them to turn to Sirius.

“Is there a table in this house that can sit seventy or so?”

Sirius looked both gobsmacked and delighted.

“For the first time in my life, I’m upset my mother’s not here. If there’s not a table that can seat seventy house elves, we’ll transfigure one. This is the _best_.”

From rooms away, Fred and George had apparently got to the entryway. Mrs. Black broke through their silencing charm with renewed vigor.

“FILTH! BLOOD-TRAITORS! DIRTY BLOODED SCUM IN THE HOUSE OF MY ANCESTORS--”

“Ah, there she is.” Sirius said, tilting his head back to bask in the screeches.

One of the twins popped his head in. It took Harry a moment to recognize Fred, but only because he was covered in what appeared to be white paint, dust, and half a feathery boa.

“Don’t bother,” Sirius forestalled. “She’s up there on a permanent sticking charm.”

Fred scoffed.

“Yeah, but what’s stopping us from pulling the wall down? We can put another, blank one up if you don’t like the extra space. It does give us room for more stuff.”

“Ever heard of a muggle trampoline?” Harry asked, grinning. “Because I’m so certain I can get you one.”

Fred pointed an accusing finger at him.

“I have _no idea_ what that is, young man, but it sounds excellent. Bring me three of them.”

Sirius bounded forward, grabbed Fred’s debris-covered face in both hands, and kissed him loudly on the forehead.

“God bless ye, merry ginger!” He sang, pushing a bewildered Fred back where he came from.

Walburga’s shrieks cut off to what sounded like an indignant yelp of rage before lowering into muffled ‘mmmph’s and fading completely.

“We’re going to have more house elves than people eating dinner in the formal dining room,” Sirius said, faint and dazed with a dopey smile on his face.

“I think we made his entire year,” Harry confided in a loud whisper to Izzy, sit snug on his hip.

Izzy giggled.

“The kitchen elves have been wanting to throw you a welcome-back feast for weeks and months,” They confided.

“Oh yeah? Well make it a big one, let’s.”

He tweaked their nose and they _popped_ away, delighted.

Ron had long since taken refuge in the overturned arm chair, long legs folded up under him on what was meant to be the backrest and was now the cushion. Harry turned it lilac for no particular reason, exulting in the casual magic and mayhem.

An image of his aunt’s face should she see literally any of the house had him grinning ear to ear. Sirius’ delight was relatable.

“You’ve gone utterly mad.” Ron noted, sounding far from displeased.

“Ignore him,” Said Ginny, sitting up and jerking her thumb over. “He heard the word ‘feast’ and now he’ll be useless until then.”

“Oi!” Said Ron, offended but resembling that remark.

Sirius broke out into song.

“God bless ye, Merry Gingers!~” He sang, making his way through to the wing of the house on the main floor that they typically left alone.

“It makes more sense that the formal dining room would be away from the upper-level personal quarters.” Harry explained to Ginny, who looked curious.

“A few dozen house elves eating at the same table as wizards is exactly what this dark house needs.” Ron opined, apparently remembering the rants Harry’d gone on when he first found out Sirius was living there alone after Christmas.

“I’m pretty sure like, eight generations of Blacks, are rolling in their graves.” He confirmed cheerfully.

“I can’t believe he let Fred and George lose on his house.” Ginny laughed.

They all made their way after Sirius through the significantly lighter and more colorful brimstone.

“I mean, as long as it’s still standing afterward.” Ron joked, stretching long arms over his head. Both Weasleys were in surprisingly muggle casualwear: thin tee-shirts and cotton shorts of blue and brown respectively.

“To be honest, I don’t even think he’d mind. We could call Hermione out to salvage the library and move somewhere else. ‘Whoops, Fred and George destroyed the place. What can you do?’” He mimed explaining to Gringotts.

“Blimey, don’t even joke.” Said Ron. “Do you know what Mum would do to them if they leveled a house? Mind, she wouldn’t be surprised they managed it, just mad.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Said Ginny to both of them. “Fred and George wouldn’t risk missing a house elf dinner party in a pureblood house for all the knuts in London.”

Three hours, an eight course meal, several shots fired in a prank war that promised to reach epic proportions, seventy-odd house elves, a few expansion charms, one knocked-down wall, and half a food fight later, Sirius and Harry had to wave the red-heads goodbye as they stepped through the floo, winded with pinked cheeks and grinning to a wixen.

“Same time next week?” Sirius asked casually.

Every single one of them broke into laughter anew. None could explain to Mrs. Weasley what exactly was so funny, and eventually she just smiled fondly at their (apparently harmless) antics.

It was a good day.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, questions, concerns-- anything you liked in particular? Lmk :D :D


End file.
